Archive for June, 2012

Last week, the Ministry of Finance of Belize has made a special transfer of US$300,000 to the Ministry of National Security, for the purchase of special equipment for Belize Police Department’s reconfigured strategy to combat violent crime. This deal is part of Belize government strategy of fight against crime as the higher-priority task. Approval of the draft budget of Belize Cabinet that will be presented this week to the House includes sufficient funding for national security.

The prime minister of Belize jurisdictionhas decided to move the Department of Immigration out of the Ministry of National Security. This will allow the Ministry of National Security administratively and operationally to focus on its main task. As a result of this rearrangement, the Immigration Department will move to the Ministry of Local Government, Labour and NEMO. Minister of State Elvin Penner, who has special responsibility for immigration, will also move to the new ministry.

According to the readers of Travel and Leisure, Belize was recognized one of the world’s best destinations in 2012. This summer, Belize will be featured in Travel and Leisure magazine, which is one of the most reputable magazines in the world, as well as on the official website TravelandLeisure.com, and in the iPad edition of the publication.

The World’s Best Awards are determined by annual survey of magazine, which every August asks travellers and travel providers to rate destinations, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, river cruises, and car-rental companies.

It should be said that during last months Belize received many positive publications in worldwide media, including leading travel web and social media sites, magazines and newspapers.

On June 12, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the short-term ‘A-1+’ rating. The bank’s outlook is stable.

According to S&P, the downgrade reflects the agency’s view that CDB’s risk management is not commensurate with other ‘AAA’ rated multilateral lending institutions, particularly given its size and regional economic weakness.

Caribbean Development Bank has failed to comply with one of its internal liquidity policy guidelines, and borrower concentration remains high. It was announced by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services that the CDB’s liquidity was tighter in 2011 than in previous years.

Paola Amadei, head of delegation of European Union, was to arrive in Belize to present her credentials to the Governor General of Belize and for an official visit, after taking office in Jamaica in March of this year. Her official visit included the signing of a financing agreement with the government of Belize on climate change.

As a result of the signing of the financing agreement on climate change, Belize jurisdiction will benefit from a climate change project entitled ‘Enhance adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change in national policies’. The European Union will contribute Euro 2.9 million, and Government of Belize will contribute Euro 0.3 million to the project.

The general aim of the project is to support the strengthening of the National Climate Change Office, which is providing economic, social and environmental expertise to meet the government’s objectives. The project targets climate change governance structures, positioning the governing of Belize to effectively manage the effects of climate change on development of Belize.